The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin has previously performed Handel's (1739) released on CD. It is precisely those beautifully polished concerts (string orchestra) that are a highlight of the Baroque era. Now the Akademie is continuing its Handel discography with the Concerti grossi op.3, which is a different story. This set of six concertos was published in 1734 by the shrewd John Walsh, unbeknownst
… to Handel. Walsh almost certainly wanted to piggyback on the success of Corelli's Concerti grossi. To do this, he collected a number of existing works by Handel and transformed them into the six concerts we hear on CD here. So we hear green and frost mixed up, and that is also a catchy one of this pirate edition. The colorful character is also evident from the instrumentation. In addition to the string orchestra, the flute, bassoon and especially the oboe play a role. That is why these concerti grossi are also called Handel's oboe concertos. (HJ)more
